Kick off the Holidays In Style!
Join us Saturday, November 26, 2011, at the Annual City of Lights Parade and Holiday Art Stroll! From 11 AM to 8 PM, enjoy family activities, live music and other holiday treats throughout downtown Lowell!
FREE parking from 10 AM - 12 midnight at the John & Market Street Garages!
View a map of garage locations and information on street closures.
Be a part of the City of Lights Parade! Registration deadline is Friday, November 11.
CLICK HERE (PDF) for Parade Registration Form
CLICK HERE (PDF) for Parade Float Guidelines
For more information, contact Chris Samaras at csamaras@lowellma.gov or 978-674-1481.
2011 CITY OF LIGHTS EVENTS - as of November 21, 2011
Please visit this page for updates!
CLICK HERE to view/download the Official City of Lights Schedule (PDF)
Photos with Santa *
2 - 4PM | 117 Merrimack Street
* Please note: Cost is $2 per photo | Come get your holiday family photo taken with the star of the North Pole himself! Artwork created by members of the Arts League of Lowell will also be on exhibit and for sale.Visit 117 Merrimack Street between 12 noon and 4pm and enter to win a Holiday Shopping Spree worth over $800! Entries must be submitted in person during open hours, 12 noon to 4pm. The winner will be announced on this website by Friday, December 2. See below for a full list of participating retailers!
Street Performances / Family Fun
Noon - 4PM
Stroll downtown Lowell and see live strolling performers and other entertainers!
4th Annual Hot Chocolate Competition, downtown Lowell *
12 Noon - 4 PM
* Please note: Cost is 25 cents per sample | Take a tour of downtown Lowell and stop in to participating businesses for the City's 4th Annual Hot Chocolate Competition! Just 25 cents buys you a delicious sample of hot cocoa of all flavors and concoctions. Be sure to vote for your favorite! Ballots available at participating locations. As you visit downtown, keep a lookout for live street performances!
All Aboard" Tour of Lowell on The Trolley Express!
Departs Boott Cotton Mills Museum, times TBA
Experience the magic of The Polar Express© on a free round-trip trolley ride aboard the Lowell National
Historical Park trolley. Listen to a reading of the classic story and enjoy hot chocolate and cookies at the end of your journey. Space is limited, reservations are required! Call 978-970-5000 to reserve your seat. (Reservations taken after November 1).
3rd Annual Festival of Wreaths
2 - 7 PM | Lowell Masonic Center, 79 Dutton Street
Enjoy a beautiful display of handmade wreaths and shop an array of arts & crafts created by local artisans. Come vote for your favorite wreath and even enter a raffle to win your choice! Drawing takes place at 6 PM. Hosted by Community Teamwork
Holiday Express Village *
10 AM - 4 PM | New England Quilt Museum, 18 Shattuck Street
See the New England Quilt Museum's Holiday Express Village, a panorama of quilted houses and shops and a working model train! Open for viewing during regular museum hours from Nov. 26 - Dec. 31. *Please note: Standard museum admission applies.
City of Lights Parade
4:30 - 6:30 PM
Get your spot along the parade route, from Jackson Street to City Hall. Enjoy music, dancing, and a variety of floats from over 60 participating groups! Don't miss the official holiday lighting of downtown Lowell and City Hall at the end of the parade route.
FREE Holiday Choral Concert
6:30 PM | St. Anne’s Church, 8 Kirk Street
Finish the evening with a variety of Christmas songs with the St. Anne’s Choir.
Tsongas Center presents Disney Live! Phineas and Ferb
1 PM & 4 PM | UMass Lowell Tsongas Center
Mom, Phineas and Ferb are going on a LIVE tour! School's out for summer and anything is possible as Phineas and Ferb create their biggest invention yet - Disney's Phineas and Ferb: The Greatest LIVE Tour Ever! Visit www.tsongascenter.com for details.
The Ultimate Christmas Show
8 PM | Merrimack Repertory Theatre, 50 E. Merrimack Street
Written and Directed by Reed Martin and Austin Tichenor; featuring the Reduced Shakespeare Company. Visit www.merrimackrep.org for details.
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Get in on the action -- be a City of Lights Sponsor!
CLICK HERE (PDF) for complete details on sponsorship opportunities. You may also contact Deb Belanger at dbelanger@merrimackvalley.org or 978-459-6150 ext. 115.
SPECIAL THANKS TO OUR 2011 CITY OF LIGHTS SPONSORS!
Event Sponsor
Parade Sponsors
Art Stroll Sponsors
Nancy K. & Richard L. Donahue Charitable Foundation
Band Sponsors
Specialty Unit Sponsors
Lowell Five Cent Savings Bank
Lowell Sun Publishing
The Lowell Plan
Business Partner Sponsors
Greater Lowell Chamber of Commerce
Lowell Spinners
Enterprise Bank
Washington Savings Bank
Friend Sponsors
Athenian Corner Restaurant
Heroes Uniform Supply and Sporting Goods
Lowell Community Health Center
Lowell Festival Foundation
McDonough Funeral Home
Soucy Industries
Parade Sponsors
Merrimack Repertory Theatre
State Representative Tom Golden
M/A-COM Federal Credit Union
NMTW
UMass Lowell Bookstore
The Old Court
Law Office of George Eliades
Courtyard by Marriott, Lowell
Cobblestones of Lowell
Special thanks to the following local retailers, restaurants, and venues
who generously donated towards this year's Shopping Spree:
Athenian Corner * Brew'd Awakening Coffeehaus * Chantilly Place * Cravings * Downtown Dancewear * Edible Arrangements * Eggroll Cafe * Fuse Bistro * Giovanni's Trends * Humanity * Indigo Spa * King Star Coffee *
Loading Dock Gallery at Western Avenue Studios * Lowell Memorial Auditorium (2 tickets to Broadway show) *
Lowell Beer Works * Mambo Grill * Merrimack Repertory Theatre (2 tickets) * Owl Stamp * Ricardo's Cafe Trattoria * Salon City * Tsongas Center * Tutto Bene Wine & Cheese Cellars